PATERSON, NJ – According to local authorities, a major pileup involving 13 vehicles occurred on a New Jersey highway on Tuesday night. The accident was reportedly caused by black ice, resulting in injuries to several motorists and a diesel fuel leak from a jackknifed tractor-trailer that spilled onto the highway and into the Passaic River.
Footage from the scene, captured by Freedom News TV, showed the jackknifed tractor-trailer blocking both lanes of traffic. In another scene, a firefighter from Paterson, New Jersey, was seen struggling to maintain balance on the icy highway. The video also showed a vehicle with severe rear-end damage on a flatbed tow truck, with all airbags inside deployed.
According to Sarvjeet Singh, a motorist interviewed at the scene, he was driving when he encountered a flooded part of the road. Singh and other vehicles continued through the water and onto a portion of the road that was completely frozen. He noted that cars began losing control and crashing into each other, prompting him to pull into a driveway to avoid the chaos.
Additional footage from the scene showed the aftermath of the pileup, with vehicles displaying extensive damage such as dented fenders, broken lamps, flat tires, and crushed bumpers. Some vehicles were seen sideways on the road, while others were pointed in the opposite direction of traffic.
Emergency crews were observed cleaning up fluids from underneath the jackknifed tractor-trailer, using a speedy dry-type of material to absorb the leaked diesel fuel. Subsequent images revealed a dented fuel tank on the tractor-trailer, which was identified as the source of the leak. Following the incident, salt trucks were dispatched to sand down the icy roadway.